UNC Lineberger researchers significantly contributed to a better understanding of the genetic alterations found in cutaneous melanoma as part of a multi-institution, international effort of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Researchers collected samples from 331 patients and used several molecular methodologies to complete the study, the largest of its kind to-date for cutaneous melanoma. The findings were published in the journal Cell.

UNC Lineberger member Frances Collichio, MD, was an investigator for a clinical trial for a treatment that uses a modified virus against melanoma. The treatment meant remission for Willis Davis, who had been diagnosed with stage IIIc melanoma in 2009.

A new treatment for melanoma could be on the horizon, thanks to a finding by a UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center-led team. In the study, which was published online today in the journal Clinical Cancer Research, the authors report that they found high levels of an enzyme in melanoma samples that they believe is a potential drug target.